Church of San Tommaso, Gothic church in Pavia, Italy.
The Church of San Tommaso is a former church in central Pavia with a Greek-cross plan and two remaining naves, the southern one demolished by Giuseppe Piermarini in the 1780s. Cylindrical brick pillars with notched cube capitals divide the naves; the presbytery and side aisles have cross vaults. The facade has a broken pediment, a central raised section and a large white marble rose window. Piermarini split the interior into two floors, a division kept in the 1990s restorations.
The building originated around 889 as a female Benedictine monastery and underwent major reconstruction in 1213. It received its final Gothic form in 1478, which remains visible today.
The Cappella Bottigella, built in the second half of the 15th century by Giovanni Matteo Bottigella, held the relics of Blessed Sibillina Biscossi and served as the family burial place. It originally housed Vincenzo Foppa's Pala Bottigella, was first frescoed by Bernardino Lanzani, and was repainted by Alessandro Casolari and Angelo Righi, who completed the Sibyls cycle in 1605.
The building is now part of the University of Pavia, housing academic offices and a humanities library in active use. Visitors should expect that access may be limited since it remains a working academic space with varying availability.
The apse was paid for by Ardengo Folperti, Master of the Ducal Entrances of the Duchy of Milan, and stone coats of arms set into the exterior wall record his bequest. The 15th-century cloister survived Giuseppe Piermarini's 1780s remodelling, which demolished the southern nave.
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